


Up the Hill, Making Memories

by phantasticphun



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: 2009 Era (Phandom), Fluff, M/M, Swearing, mild sexual references, october 19th 2009
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-20
Updated: 2020-10-20
Packaged: 2021-03-09 00:07:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,156
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27124954
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/phantasticphun/pseuds/phantasticphun
Summary: It's the night of October 19th, 2009. The bus has just dropped Dan and Phil off after their day in Manchester together. This doesn't mean the night is over, though: they've got one long hill to climb before they're getting to Phil's house.(And maybe they are alittleexcited to get to Phil's house.)
Relationships: Dan Howell/Phil Lester
Comments: 22
Kudos: 52





	Up the Hill, Making Memories

They step out of the bus and onto the chilly streets of Rawtenstall. There’s a streetlamp casting a yellowish glow on their faces, now, and it’s not like the fluorescent lights on the bus or the glittering skyline as the sun set over Manchester or even the bright bulbs of the Ferris wheel. It’s new and old experiences somehow joined together and it’s so, so lovely.

Phil likes seeing Dan in this new kind of light, the streetlamp kind. He’s seen the light from this streetlamp on plenty of occasions-- in the early morning waiting for the bus to school, at late hours of the night goofing off with his friends-- but he never thought it could make another person look so… pretty. After today he’s thinking that he wants to see Dan in just about every kind of light.

“Phil?”

Phil cracks a smile. “What?”

The giggles can’t help but bubble out of Dan. “Fuck.” He envelops Phil in a tight hug, right there at the bus stop. 

Phil hugs back, just as tight. He likes holding Dan; that was something he discovered today when Dan beelined to him on that Manchester train platform and hugged him just as hard. Maybe harder. It was good to know that Dan was just as excited to see him as Phil was excited to see Dan.

“Today has been like… the best day ever.”

Phil hums. “Yeah.”

They pull apart and then Phil can’t help but stifle a yawn. It has been one of the best days of his life, but it’s also been a long day. Actually, it’s been an even longer day for Dan because he had to get up early this morning to catch his train. Dan doesn’t show any sign of sleepiness, though. Phil feels soft with that thought: sleepy Dan. He’s seen sleepy Dan enough times during their hours-long Skype sessions but now he wants to see sleepy Dan in person. 

Phil’s mushy Skype memories are interrupted by Dan asking, “Tired, Phil?” He’s got a playful little smirk going on and Phil loves that look on him.

“It’s been a long day.” He shrugs and then gestures to the steeply inclined road ahead of them. “Also not looking forward to having to get back home. There’s a big hill we need to climb up.”

“But we’ll get to be at your house at the end.”

Phil nods and begins to walk. Dan is quick to follow.

“And your parents aren’t home--”

Phil begins to blush violently, stepping quicker. Dan keeps up the pace and elbows Phil.

“So we can do whatever we want.” It’s all flirty, all playful, and knowing Dan, definitely a little bit dirty.

“I can kiss you again,” Phil states matter-of-factly.

Dan rolls his eyes. “I was the one who leaned in up there. I was fucking terrified but _I_ was the one to kiss _you_. When we get to your house, _I_ can kiss _you_ again.

He shrugs. “We can kiss each other.”

“We can make out.” Dan raises his eyebrows.

Phil lets out an involuntary little noise. “I’d like that.”

Now it’s Dan’s turn to be a little bashful; he turns away and mumbles, “I would, too.”

Soon, they’re at the base of the hill and beginning their trek up. “Ready?” Phil asks.

Dan nods.

After wiping his hands on his jeans, Phil extends out his hand. Dan looks at the hand, then up at Phil’s crooked smile, then back at his hand. He takes it in his own and they continue the walking. It’s certainly autumn out and it feels nice to be connected skin-to-skin like this. 

The night has a sort of magical quality to it. There are few light sources: streetlights, windows, cars as they drive up the hill and pass them, the moon and stars. Phil was right before, Dan is pretty in every kind of light or lack thereof. Dan’s pretty all the time and Dan kissed him on the Ferris wheel and Dan’s holding his hand and when they get back to his house, Dan’s going to kiss him some more.

Phil’s suddenly aware that he hasn’t said anything in a while. He blurts out, “Are my hands too sweaty?” 

Dan laughs, he’s so loud on such a quiet street. “No, Phil.”

“See, just, one time, it’s been a while, but one time I brought a girl up this same hill when I though liking girls was like, you know, maybe for me ‘cause that’s what’s expected, and I held her hand the whole way up the hill and it was so sweaty--”

Dan’s still giggling, albeit quieter. “You’re fine, Phil. You’re fine. If things get too sweaty we can take a break, yeah?”

“Yeah.”

There’s another pause. They pass a black metal fence and Dan traces the top with his unoccupied hand. When they reach the end, Dan flings his hand up and then back at his side again. His gaze moves from the fence to Phil’s face and he grins. “Can’t believe I’m finally with you in person.”

Phil lifts their hands up. “Can’t believe we’re finally holding hands.”

“Can’t believe we’re filming a video together. AmazingPhil is really, really going to be in a video with me.” Dan looks just so, so content. A soft kind of excitement.

“And danisnotonfire is going to sleep in my bed.”

Dan pulls away from Phil’s hand and tugs up the backpack straps on his shoulder. He looks away and blushes.

“If, you know, you want to. I know we talked about it on Skype a few nights ago but it’s okay if you’d feel more comfortable--”

Dan stops abruptly and Phil needs to take a step backwards to be even with him. 

“Dan, I’m sorry, I--”

Dan’s looking at the ground. His face slowly lifts up, revealing a smile. “Phil,” he says, a soft breathy kind of way. He lunges forward and wraps himself around Phil again. “I just, God, fuck, I just can’t--”

Phil does his best to hug back with the same kind of intensity. 

“Shit, I’m sorry I’m just such a mess, I just-- I didn’t think--”

Dan pulls away and places his hands on Phil’s biceps. His eyes are definitely a little glassy with tears and Phil’s not sure if they’re good or bad ones or some kind of mix. Dan looks incredibly happy, though, and Phil’s not exactly sure what’s going on in Dan’s head, but he wants to know. Phil wants to see just how pretty Dan is in every kind of light and he wants to know what things run through his mind. He’s got a beautiful mind, too. Dan speaks up again. “I didn’t think I’d ever, I don’t know, I’d ever be this happy. I didn’t know it was possible. But Phil,” he brings him into another tight hug, “You make me happier than I’ve ever been.”

They stand there for a little while longer, holding each other. Dan nuzzles against Phil’s neck and then pulls away and grabs Phil’s hand again. Once more, they begin to walk.

The trees all have their red and yellow and orange leaves on display, even in the night, and the branches are bouncing in the breeze. The leaves rustle and as Dan and Phil step along, their shoes tap on the concrete below. Dan’s hand is warm intertwined with Phil’s and the air is cold and refreshing on their faces.

“I’ve always liked autumn,” Dan says.

Phil hums. “Me too.”

“The trees’ leaves changing and colder weather-- it’s just so pretty.”

He finally says what he’s been thinking this whole time: “You’re so pretty.”

Dan blushes and smiles shyly. His dimples are deep. “No,” he shakes his head.

Phil smirks. “Yeah, believe it, Dan. You are.”

Dan swings his and Phil’s hands. “No, don’t think so.” 

“Fine then.” Phil huffs. “You’re gorgeous. Handsome. Beautiful. Hot. Fit. Sexy. Choose your own adjective.”

“Phil,” Dan whines, “Stop it.” He’s blushing and giggling again, but he has been doing a lot of that all day. He’s been doing a lot of that since they first started talking to each other and Phil wouldn’t have it any other way. 

They smile and walk together, along the stone wall which holds all kinds of childhood memories for Phil. They’re finally getting closer to Phil’s house, now.

Dan clears his throat and then asks, quietly, “I’m good to wipe the sweat off my hand, right?”

Phil chuckles. “Yeah, let’s.”

Dan unclasps their hands. They both take a minute and wipe their hands off on their jeans and maybe it’s a little gross but they don’t care. They both share a laugh together and then reconnect their hands.

“I’ve been nervous all day. I swear my hands aren’t always this clammy,” Dan admits.

Phil cocks an eyebrow. “A good kind of nervous though, yeah?”

Dan nods. “Yeah. I’ve just-- look, Phil, six months ago I couldn’t fathom this moment happening. And now I’m living it.”

“Well get fathoming, because it _is_ really happening.”

They just grin at each other for a moment. Then, Dan looks off, focusing nowhere in particular. “This is cheesy as fuck,” he says, turning back to look at Phil, “but this is like some kind of dream. Like I’m afraid I’m going to wake up and I’ll be back in my bed and I’ll open my laptop and you’ll upload a new video and I’ll go back to commenting, trying desperately to get your attention.”

Phil lets out a quiet laugh through his nose. “I think our little _Skype sessions_ have let me know just how whiny and desperate you can be.”

That gets Dan to chuckle, coupled with yet another bashful blush. “Fuck off.”

They walk some more, hand-in-hand, and a car passes them. Neither one of them makes a move to disconnect where they’re connected. Phil kind of wants them to see. He kind of wants them to see that silly, weird Phil Lester from Rossendale has found something special. Something he’s never really felt before. 

Soon, they arrive at a place that brings back a particular memory every time he passes it.

“See that bit of wall over there?” He asks, gesturing out. “How it’s all knocked down?”

Dan squints into the dark distance and then nods.

“That was the cause of some mum drama, let me tell you. Me and my friend took some of the bricks--”

Dan knocks their sides together. “Didn’t know you were the bad boy type.”

Phil says “shut up” through giggles. “We took some of the bricks but then some other woman’s son had already partially knocked it down so it was a whole thing. Really, interesting drama.”

Dan snorts. “Sounds like it.”

There’s a bit of silence before Phil says, “I know, my stories are just… _incredibly_ interesting.”

Dan’s eyes sparkle in a certain way when he responds, “They are.”

They’ve arrived at Phil’s street. Phil turns down the road and pulls Dan along with him. He’s suddenly aware that they’re almost home. Phil’s not sure what exactly they’ll do when they’re home… alone… but he’s got some ideas and he’s sure Dan does, too. It’s a certain sort of excitement that shoots a spark down Phil’s spine and makes his stomach knot up in the best kind of way.

“So this is really your street, huh?” Dan asks. He seems in awe, almost.

Phil nods. “Yeah, you’re getting the one-on-one AmazingPhil superfan tour, only for the most special of guests.”

Dan rolls his eyes fondly. “Superfan,” he repeats.

“Well,” Phil says with a shrug. “I’ve already signed up for my exclusive danisnotonfire tour, personally, so I’d say we’re both superfans.”

“Pfft, be quiet.”

Phil flashes him a smirk. “Never.”

Finally, they’re stood at the end of Phil’s driveway. Phil is really about to share with Dan one of the most special places in the world to him. He’s really going to make new memories with Dan in the home he grew up in. Dan will no longer be confined to pixels on his laptop screen; he’ll really be standing in his room.

Phil wants to make the first memory of many and leans over and presses a kiss to Dan’s dimpled cheek.

“Phil!” Dan all but shrieks. 

Phil turns to face a flustered Dan, another smirk on his face. “Ready?”

Dan grins, genuinely, deeply. “I’ve never been more ready in my life.”

They begin to walk up the driveway and to the front door. Phil can’t wait to see Dan’s pretty face in the bright overhead lights of his kitchen or in the lamps of his living room or in the bright morning light streaming through his bedroom curtains. 

They’ve talked on Twitter, they’ve talked on Skype, they’ve wandered around Manchester, and they’ve walked up the hill. Phil is swinging open his front door and he’s holding it open for Dan. 

They’re ready to make some more memories.

**Author's Note:**

> This is just a little something to belatedly celebrate Phannie Day! It's also my first time writing anything 2009, so that's cool.
> 
> Thanks for reading! As always, comments and kudos are appreciated!
> 
> Find me on Tumblr: [@PhantasticPhun](https://phantasticphun.tumblr.com)


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